In Panchkula, a bare-shell corner showroom has been transformed into a quiet radical workspace — one that treats light, time, and honesty of material as its primary building blocks.
Project Name: Studio Vasaka
Studio Name: Studio Vasaka
Project Location : Panchkula, Haryana, India
Completion Year : 2024
Gross Built Area : 445 ft2
Lead Architects : Karan Arora, Varchasa
Design Team : Keerti Kapila
Photo Credits : Vaibhav Passi
Designed on a minimal budget, the studio becomes a manifesto of “doing less, with more meaning.”
“Every decision was a question of necessity — if it wasn’t essential, we didn’t add it. If we did add it, we let it speak its own truth,” say the architects.
Light pours in from the east-facing front and a new south-facing horizontal window — designed not just for illumination, but to track time. Below it, an extended stone sill houses a thriving colony of plants. Greenery flows through the studio, part of its atmosphere and ecology — a thread of life that runs through the space.
Rather than overlaying the space with polish, the design strips it down. All the new brick walls stand raw and unplastered. The ceiling, once whitewashed, was sanded back to reveal its concrete slab — scars and all — holding its imperfections with quiet pride while all electrical conduits were left exposed. The existing walls were lime-washed, adding texture without excess.
The flooring becomes a field of quiet play: grey terrazzo interlaid with white Indian marble pieces, salvaged as offcuts from a local dealer. Their curved patterns add a gentle, almost musical rhythm to the space — like a whisper beneath one’s feet.
Furniture, instead of being sculptural showpieces, is warm, utilitarian, and rooted in comfort. A single material — a deep, grounding black Indian stone — runs through key elements of the studio, from workstations and the cabin to the shared dining table, anchoring the space in quiet consistency. Custom wall sconces, and finishes in soft warm tones, complement this palette without calling attention to itself — together, they create a mood that’s gentle and whole. Nothing feels imposing; everything simply belongs.
A small open pantry channels the informality of a café: “We’ve always loved working from cafés — there’s something about coffee and creative conversation that shaped this space.”
This studio does not claim to be finished. It is a space in flux — a drawing in progress, defined by its honesty, humility, and the quiet conviction that less can mean more.
